Political Notebook: Hillary caught telling another fib?

Weekly political rail, with a look at the official popular vote count in the Democratic race, the latest McCain vs. polls, better know Truman and more.

By the Numbers

Hillary Clinton has been saying that she leads in the popular vote after her win in the Pennsylvania primaries, but is it true or just another sniper story? Depends on if one is counting Michigan and Florida, whose primaries the Democratic Party deemed illegal – and Clinton is counting them, even though neither candidate campaigned in the states and Barack Obama’s name didn’t even appear on the Michigan ballot. The official count is:

Obama: 14.4 million
Clinton: 13.9 million

Political Battle of the Week: Louisiana vs. Baggy Pants

Louisiana’s effort to ban baggy pants hit a snag in the state Senate this week when a panel rejected the bill that would have made it a crime to wear clothing that "intentionally exposes undergarments or intentionally exposes any portion of the pubic hair, cleft of the buttocks or genitals." Several towns have already banned baggy, but the state will have to drop its fight – for now, at least.

Pol Polls

In the latest look at John McCain vs. the Democatic contenders, the Republican trails both candidates. Here are the numbers from RealClearPolitics.com, which averages polls:

John McCain vs. Barack Obama

Obama: 46.4 percent
McCain: 44.5 percent

John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton

Clinton: 45.9 percent
McCain: 45.5 percent

The List

Inspired by President Bush’s recent frat-boy assessment of Pope Benedict’s speech at the White House – “Awesome speech!" – we present you with more top Bushisms, these from 2000:

"I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can't answer your question."

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."

"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."

"Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?"

For more Bushisms, go to http://politicalhumor.about.com.

Political Pun-dits: The Pennsylvania primaries

"Well, even though she won yesterday, Hillary Clinton's campaign is now $10 million in debt. $10 million in debt, and, ironically, her big issue: I can handle the economy." -- Jay Leno

"It was a big night of celebration for the Clinton camp, but they still face some serious money problems. Even in her victory speech last night, Hillary pretty much begged people to go to her Web site and contribute. If only she knew a very wealthy former president who made $30 million for his autobiography." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – Dec. 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States (1945–1953). As vice president, he succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died less than three months after he began his fourth term.

As president, Truman faced challenge after challenge in domestic affairs. The disorderly reconversion of the economy of the United States was marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes and the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act over his veto. He confounded all predictions to win re-election in 1948, largely due to his famous Whistle Stop Tour of rural America. After his re-election, he was able to pass only one of the proposals in his Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to begin desegregation of the U.S. armed forces and to launch a system of loyalty checks to remove thousands of communist sympathizers from government office, even though he strongly opposed mandatory loyalty oaths for governmental employees, a stance that led to charges that his administration was soft on communism. Truman's presidency was also eventful in foreign affairs, with the end of World War II and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the creation of NATO and the Korean War.

Truman, whose demeanor was very different from that of the patrician Roosevelt, was a folksy, unassuming president. He popularized such phrases as "The buck stops here" and "If you can't stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen." Despite negative public opinion during his term in office, popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency became more positive after his retirement from politics and the publication of his memoirs. Many scholars today rank him among the top ten presidents. Fun fact: Truman did not have a middle name, only a middle initial. (Wikipedia.org)

This Week in Political History

April 27, 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.